FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-STM-005-2014 September 29, 2014 A Joint Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre WORLD: Council members must reject procedural tactics that foreclose substantive debate Excellency, We write to express our concern about a worrying development in the Human Rights Council in the use of procedural tactics to silence important and legitimate debate on critical human rights issues and situations. At the Council’s 26th session in June 2014, we witnessed the use of a ‘no-action motion’ to prevent the consideration of an amendment proposed to the resolution on the ‘Protection of the family and all its members’, thereby preventing substantive debate. A ‘no-action motion’ is a procedural motion […]

Date: September 17, 2014 Document ID:ALRC-COS-27-14-2014 Speaker:Mr. MOON JeongHo HRC section: Item 3, General Debate An Oral Statementto the 27th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status THAILAND: Human rights crisis is deepened Thank you Mr. President. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) continues to draw attention from the Council to the deepening human rights crisis in Thailand following the 22 May coup.Although the country has been experiencing political unrest, this unrest is protracted, and nothing in the current circumstances is justification to introduce martial law and launch a military coup under the international human rights […]

Date: September 16, 2014 Document id:ALRC-COS-27-16-2014 Speaker:Mr.Damion Vogt HRC section: Item 3, General Debate A Joint Oral Statementto the 27th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from 21 NGOs INDONESIA: Human rights defenders in Papua Mr. President, Papuan human rights defenders are often confronted by intimidation from Indonesian authorities. Franciscans International and a coalition of 18 international and national organisations would like to call the Council’s attention to the case of intimidation of Papuan human rights lawyer, MrGustafKawer. MrKawer is an independent lawyer from Papua who has been involved in numerous human rights litigations. He was summoned by the Papua regional police as a witness on August 22, 2014. […]

Date: September 16, 2014 Document ID:ALRC-COS-27-13-2014 Speaker:Mr. MOON JeongHo HRC section: Item 3, General Debate An Oral Statementto the 27th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status ASIA: Urgent need for competent public justice systems Thank you Mr. President, The Asian Legal Resource Centre reiterates that full realization of human rights for all depends on competent public justice systems, functioning effectively, within a rule of law framework. In many Asian states, however, public justice systems have not only failed to function, they now serve private interests, and enforcement agents serving such private interests are granted impunity. […]

Date: September 15, 2014 Document id:ALRC-COS-27-15-2014 Speaker: Mr. Budi Tjahjono HRC section: Item 3, General Debate A Joint Oral Statement to the 27th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from 23 NGOs INDONESIA: Freedom of expression in Papua and West Papua Mr. President, Franciscans International and VIVAT International in coalition with 16 international and national organizations would like to draw the Council’s attention to the still unresolved issue regarding the freedom of expression in the provinces of Papua and West Papua in Indonesia. In 2013, the Human Rights Committee in its concluding observation requested Indonesia to take the necessary steps to ensure that any restrictions to the freedom of […]

ALRC-CWS-27-12-2014 September 5, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty seventh session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre THAILAND: Human rights in crisis three months after coup 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to raise grave concerns with the Human Rights Council about the deepening human rights crisis in Thailand following the 22 May 2014 coup launched by a military junta calling itself the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and led by General Prayuth Chan-ocha. The NCPO has claimed that it carried out the coup for the vague purpose of “reform” and with the […]

ALRC-CWS-27-11-2014 September 5, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty seventh session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: Absence of freedom of expression contributes to the non-existence of the rule of law 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to share with the UN Human Rights Council the status of freedom of expression and opinion in Bangladesh. 2. Bangladesh’s Constitution guarantees “Freedom of thought and conscience and of speech” in a strange manner. Article 39 of the Constitution reads: “(1) Freedom of thought and conscience is guaranteed. (2) Subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law […]

ALRC-CWS-27-10-2014 September 4, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty seventh session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre PAKISTAN: A call for an immediate intervention to stop extrajudicial killings 1. Extra judicial killings have become rampant in Pakistan; they are being executed with impunity and are rarely tried in Courts. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) continues to document hundreds of cases of extra-judicial killings in Pakistan, which are generally accompanied by absolute impunity, due to the lack of investigations and prosecutions. The rampant killings, the lack of effective actions to neither punish them nor provide redress to […]

ALRC-CWS-27-09-2014 September 4, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty seventh session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BURMA / MYANMAR: Features of the practice of torture by law enforcement agencies 1. The practice of police torture in Myanmar remains unchanged despite the efforts and work of countless individuals across the globe. The practice of such human rights abuse in Myanmar predates recent political changes and continues even after government reform. Myanmar citizens expected the new government to move away such human rights abuse. Earlier this year, the Government of Myanmar planned and discussed signing the Convention against […]

ALRC-CWS-27-08-2014 September 3, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty seventh session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre NEPAL: Council should exert pressure to abolish Haliya practice, a form of slavery 1. There are an estimated 3 million Dalits who have been facing the problem of untouchablity and caste-based discrimination in Nepal. In Nepal, 76% of the population depends on agriculture, and land is their major survival asset. However, 9% of the elite hold 47% of the cultivable land. On the other hand, 67% of poor people have ownership of only 17% of the arable land, and 33% […]